How to Choose Your Marine Paint Colors

In the old days, boats used to be primarily made of wood and didn’t have much variety in terms of color. Today’s synthetic chemicals and alkyd pigmentation allows boat owners to choose from a variety of boating colors, even when using two-part paints. With the wide array of colors available, some boaters are left asking: Which color should I use and is there a difference in pigmentation compounds?

The topside of your boat will be seen by the most people, including fellow boaters. Two great paints for topside application are enamels and urethane pigments.

Enamels are the most popular topside colored paints. Enamels are also known as alkyd paints, and they are suitable on any boat substrate. Enamels provide bright colors with a wide array of choices. Enamels are also mixable for maximum customization and can be applied using a spray gun for stenciling work.

Among yacht and racing boat owners, a popular color compound is a polyester urethane with pigments rich in “aliphatic” resigns. This makes the color UV resistant, which keeps fading to a minimum even with heavy sun exposure.

For the bottomside of your boat, you also have a lot of coloring options. There are few boats with really brilliant bottomside colors, but today’s line of marine paint can make this happen for you.

Pettit Marine Paint has a special line of bottomside paint called “VIVID”. This antifouling paint has bright pigments that are also mixable for a wide array of color options. Better yet, the antifouling in Pettit paints provides great protection for your hull against marine life attachment. These paints are suitable for fiberglass and metal boat hulls.

Interlux is another popular choice for boaters who want marine paint colors. Interlux has a bottomside and topside marine color paint product. The bottomside Interlux marine paints with color come in a wide variety of antiblative and antifouling ranges. Interlux also further specializes its antifouling paint into specific boat substrates such as fiberglass verses aluminum. For racing boats, Interlux also has a line of bottomside colors that have low drag, enhancing movement in water.

Marine Paint Colors

When considering what colors you want on your bottomside, white, blue, and red has always been the “staple” of marine colors. With today’s selection of colors, the sky is the limit as to what bottomside color you want. As with all bottomside paints, you must weigh your need of antifouling properties and long term protection with what kind of boat you’re painting.

When you’re selecting your brand of paint, you may want to consider whether or not the brand offers specific pigmented paint for certain boat substrates. This ensures your final coat will be fully compatible with not only your existing paint job, but your hull substrate as well.

Marine colors are a great to customize your boat and set it apart from the rest. Painting your boat is hard enough, but when you get to paint it in a color that characterizes the spirit of your boat, it makes the job more enjoyable and much more personal.